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A report published in Phys.org in Sept. 2024 argued that the world is heading toward greater regulation of social media.
The article came after Brazil banned Elon Musk’s social media platform X, and seemed to side with those who want greater censorship of information online. “Increasingly, we’re seeing an evolution. Courts are rethinking libertarian free speech paradigms—rethinking this very expansive understanding of free speech online,” said Northeastern University assistant law and computer science professor Elettra Bietti. “We have moved from a very libertarian, very hands-off approach to an increasing appetite for regulation in the digital economy.” (TAKE A POLL: Do You Feel That Your Basic Needs (Food, Shelter, and Safety) Are Adequately Met?)
Northeastern University’s law and political science prof. Claudia Haupt argued that such regulation also stemmed from the “January 6” capitol riots and what she and folks like the World Economic Forum (WEF) define as “rampant online dis- and mis-information during COVID.”
Government-Mandated Speech?
“There is so much misinformation about things about science, and the truth isn’t what usually emerges,” says Haupt. (TAKE A POLL: How Often Do You Encounter Misinformation Online?)
“Of course, a lot of his businesses benefit from government investments,” Bietti added. “So, the idea that the government should just step out of the picture and not intervene at all in the regulation of what types of technologies we have and what harms might be caused by these technologies is totally absurd. And he fully knows that.”
“The social media platforms basically have to comply with the regulatory frameworks wherever they do business,” Haupt continued. “The baseline for assessing whether speech is lawful or not is not United States law, but local law in Brazil … The U.S. is actually an outlier in the way it treats speech.”
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